Asylum seeker Eric has turned to the Manuel Bravo organisation for help

From the moment his parents were killed when he was just seven years old, it's been a desperate life of destitution and moving from country to country for child refugee Momo Eric Robert.

Eric's parents were murdered by rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo - he would later lose his sister in Libya. Having lost all his family, he's now an asylum seeker in this country.

And Eric, currently living in Leeds and an illegal resident in this country since 2004, is facing a crunch hearing next week to see whether he can stay in the UK.

For many, Eric's story will be a moving - and not untypical - one.

After his parents were killed, a kind Congolese woman took him and his sister in - and they decided to flee the country because it wasn't safe.

"It was only from the age of 14 that I really started to know what happened to my parents and how they came to be murdered - but now I can't think about it too much," he says.

"There are lots of things I can't think about because they will give me nightmares."

Lived in a dozen countries

Eric, tears welling in his eyes, recounts hiking through deserts, living rough in the forests of Morocco and eating rotting food from bins to survive.

He's lived in about a dozen countries - none of which wanted to help him - and he's still only 26 years old.

"Some of my friends say that I am strong but I do not think that," he said. "I think I have survived because God has helped me - some of my friends have lost their lives and I am one of the lucky ones.

"I am trying to learn a bit more about Congo. I think it was just a matter of politics that I lost my parents. I hope one day peace can be there again."

Eric says he wants to work in this country - he can't at the moment because he's here illegally - and has been studying English at Park Lane College. He's also taken a law course to help him understand why it's so difficult for asylum seekers to get legal aid.

Legal aid is only granted for appeals judged to have a 50% chance of success and demand far exceeds capacity

"Some people think people like me are here for a free meal and not to work - but I am here because I want to work and contribute."

Manuel Bravo helps out

Eric has been receiving help from Leeds-based organisation Manuel Bravo, which helps asylum seekers get legal aid - something they often don't qualify for.

The group links up with solicitors in Leeds who give their time for free to gain legal aid for clients and represent them at hearings - the firms include DLA Piper, Eversheds and Beachcroft.

Next week Eric and his solicitor meet with the Home Office to decide his fate.

Karen Gray, of Manuel Bravo (in the video, above), said: "I believe Eric should be able to stay here on compassionate grounds.

"He had an asylum appeal hearing two years ago, which he lost, but they have not been able to send him back to the Congo because he doesn't have the travel documents because he was so young when he left so Congo won't accept him.

"At his appeal the judge told him that he believed Eric was a hard worker but he did not fall between the narrow remit that he didn't qualify as an asylum seeker or refugee.

"So far nothing's happened to either send him home or tell him he can stay and so he's in an awful limbo."

Of Manuel Bravo, Eric said: "They have been very helpful, I am very grateful. Emotionally they have been a big support."

Update: Since this post was first published, we have now received the following statement:A spokesperson for the Home Office said: "All claims are assessed on their merits. We only return those individuals who have been found by the Home Office and, if they choose to appeal, the independent courts to have no need for asylum as they are not in danger of persecution or serious harm upon return to their home country."